The Endless Novel: Best Ex

Some special music in 2020 - Vol. 2

02:17

2020, for all its flaws, was a year filled with kickass new music. Despite being the hardest ever year for musicians and touring artists, especially in the independent, alternative world, our favourite bands and artists kept creating and gave us the gift of music to sustain and help us get through a time we will remember as one of the toughest in history. Having a lot of time on my hands, and having made the resolution to keep up with the scene, I lent an ear to everything. Artists I hadn't paid attention to before, names I didn't know well, recommendations, everything was fair game.

It is the reason why there is no ranked list of the releases of the year, because I cannot and do not really want to compare completely opposed genres and styles. How do I compare metalcore and folk-pop? Pop-punk and folktronica? The correct answer is I don't. I have a top six, but, most importantly, I have a jumble of albums that have helped along the way, brought a smile to my face, proved to be the perfect soundtrack for a sunny day, a rainy day, or a bottom-of-the-bin brain day. That's what we're celebrating today.

I want to start with live albums.

I usually pay very little attention to live recordings, for reasons that elude me. This year, two managed to catch my eye, and I have a sneaky little feeling that it is because they involve some of my very favourite artists. One of them is the Live At Asbury Park by Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties. For those who aren't in the know, AW20 is the side project of The Wonder Years' Dan Campbell, who is one of my favourite songwriters, musicians, and all-around people. The two studio albums attached to it, We Don't Have Each Other and Routine Maintenance, are a story based on the life of a fictional character, Aaron West. I got to see it performed live twice at the end of last year, and, shocker with me, it ended in tears. There will be songs you listen to, in life, and you think they are lovely acoustic songs, they have a nice vibe to them, and then, you register the lyrics? The saddest line you have ever heard during your time on Earth will hit you straight in the gut. That's the basic summary of Aaron West's discography. Two studio albums, a bunch of songs here and there, and a live record compiling raw sadness and pain. I was meant to see Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties as a full band experience before Slam Dunk, this year, which would have included brass instruments, and hopefully fewer tears, but, you know. 2020 was who she was as a year. In the meantime, I have Live At Asbury Park, a record player, and a whole lot of tears to sustain myself.
Though I will always live for the hope I find in Runnin' Toward The Light. What a song.

I will use the verb discovered for the second half of this very short list, as opposed to talking about a release. It popped up on Spotify, but I have no recollection of the band ever mentioning it, and I have no idea if it was meant to be something more than "something that, one day, popped up on Spotify." It's the triple j live at the Wireless, in Melbourne, by The Story So Far. I think it helped to fill the void of not seeing a band I had become so used to seeing all the time and everywhere, but, then again, does anything fill the void at all? Maybe it was just here to remind me of the great times I had, and hopefully will still have, appearing everywhere, one beached whale-like crowdsurf at a time. Lord, I miss seeing The Story So Far everywhere. Just like live albums tend to do, it allowed me to pay more attention to the instruments, the quality of the playing, and the details I cannot necessarily hear when I am caught in a moment, beaten up in a moshpit, taking in the atmosphere instead. Also, if you must know, it's a little corny, but the first minute of Solo absolutely destroyed me.

I miss the era of split EPs. I miss bands teaming up to release music together. I miss bands collaborating more together, come to think of it.
Split EPs, though deserving of their own post, gave me some songs I adore. The first one that comes to mind is Clairvoyant by The Story So Far, part of an EP with Stick To Your Guns. Imagine what a tour that would be!

There was only one split EP that I found this year, which is nowhere near enough. It hailed from somewhere between Melbourne and Tasmania, a little bit of both. It was announced through minimal promotion, just pictures of coffee makers and tags on Instagram posts, and it gave us two of the loveliest songs of the year. It was the Slowly Slowly x Luca Brasi split EP, and a part of me will always be annoyed that I missed out on the vinyl and the coffee maker. (Damn shipping fees, timezones, and vinyl hoarders)
Slowly Slowly's half of it, Slow Learner, is a short acoustic number packed with feelings. The vocal delivery and lyrical vibe are very reminiscent of the band's first album/EP/musical situation/whatever anyone wants to call it, Chamomile. It was released the day after my birthday, and I listened to it for the first time in my brother's car, under the pouring rain.
It was perfect.
Finally lending my ears to Luca Brasi, this year, filled part of a gap in my heart. Despite the heavy lyrical content, their half of the split, Yossarian, feels comforting. There is something comforting about Luca Brasi in general, something that feels like the sunshine warming you up, and road trips with the windows down. I can't quite put my finger on it, but feelings like these make more sense to me than describing music in elaborate genres and technical words.
Music is now something that feels like weather types and activities.

A few awesome EPs graced the virtual shelves of streaming apps this year, and some struck my attention, big time.

I have always been picky about "reimagined" type of materials. If I am a sucker for acoustic music, I don't want my favourite bands to slap an ambient beat over a song with the vocals turned down and call it a day. It's lazy and unimaginative. If I am going to dig something reimagined, it has to give me a whole new take on the song. It has to pack on the feelings and give me a way to rediscover it, appreciate its intricacies and details, bleed the emotions from the lyrics dry. It has to live up to the implications of the term "reimagined."
Two of such EPs gave me all of those feelings this year.

The first was the second volume of The Wonder Years' Burst And Decay series. See, no one said anything about it being a series. I just want the hope of it all. The Wonder Years acoustic is the best thing since sliced bread, it might even be better, and it gives you the opportunity to rediscover the band's music. You get more places and more moments when you're going to burst out crying every single feeling that has ever crossed your heavy heart. While Washington Square Park gave me all the hope and shoulder-to-cry-on type of vibe I needed when it first came out, Passing Through A Screen Door was a swifter kick to the stomach, an existential crisis of a song amped up to the max. Weirdly enough, this is a compliment. Passing Through A Screen Door, despite being unbelievably sad, remains my favourite TWY song, a solid companion when my brain makes me feel like I have quite literally fucked up my whole life.

The second one was Between The Kitchen And The Living Room, by Alex Lahey. First of all, the title is a reference to 2019's I Want To Live With You, and, if you know me, you know I am the biggest nerd for songs and albums that reference each other. Second of all, I loved that it was all recorded in Alex's apartment during quarantine, every song in a different room. Everyday's The Weekend was dubbed the Laundry Version and came attached to one of the sweetest music videos of the year, full of kitties, puppies, and hope for the future. The weirdly eye-opening and relatable I Haven't Been Taking Care Of Myself was recorded from the hallway. It genuinely felt like a reinvention of the music, a moment when an artist took the cards they were dealt with and made something beautiful out of it. It was lovely, peaceful, and quiet, and, believe you me, my brain needed the break.

As far as original EPs go, a couple have stood out to me, too. I noticed more than I usually do, this year, and while I appreciate all the effort and creativity artists have put in their newer material, not everything struck a chord. Such is life.

If there were ever any favourites as such, the title would be won by Good At Feeling Bad by Best Ex. I have been through this dozens of times before. Everyone knows Mariel Loveland is one of my favourite artists, and most importantly, songwriters in the world. I simply adore the way she can paint a picture with her words, make every line a snapshot of a precise moment, and, at the same time, deliver it in a way that leaves space for your personal experience to grow. The shimmery, glittery pop sound mixed with emotional lyrics is a deadly combination, the best of both worlds. Immersing myself in Best Ex's music always feels like being given a best friend to hold your hand while you're overcoming all the obstacles, the times life brings you down, the boys that will break your heart, the ever going conflict between hope for a brighter future and the anxiety of right now. It always feels like being less alone. Good At Feeling Bad is the kind of music that makes you want to dance your heartbreak away with a sugary sweet drink in hand, go on stupid, yet unforgettable adventures with your friends, or maybe give yourself a makeover, à la 2000s coming-of-age film, but maybe not just for the wardrobe. Maybe I could do with a brighter exterior, but maybe I could shine a light on the inside and start believing that I will be okay. This is what Best Ex feels like.

(Also, I could do with a fluffy green coat)

Another EP I adored this year was World In Colour by Luke Rainsford. I have been following Luke's various musical endeavours for the past almost-five years, and if you think this means I liked Layover, you are right. Listening to World In Colour again yesterday afternoon, I found myself missing them making every possible line-up just that little bit better. World In Colour is all I could possibly want from Luke's music.
Tip Toe is one of the most joyous, hopeful songs I have heard during this hell hole of a year, and I spent many a walk in the fields listening to it and resisting the call of the truly awful dad-dancing. (At least, the people in the village would have had a valid reason to stare at me.) Lack is one hell of a deceiving track, perfectly associating some of the most heartbreaking lyrics I have ever heard to unbelievable catchiness. Frame and In Spite Of All My Worry weren't new, and they took me back to the one time I got to see Luke play this year, in Birmingham, in support of Cory Wells. It was a lovely night I miss dearly. Despite being on the sad, so, so fucking sad side of everything, they feel comforting, somewhere in the memory of that one night. I don't have a lot of very good words for this, which completely defeats the point of me writing any of this. Just know there is something so infinitely special about Luke Rainsford and their music, something I wish everyone in the world could see.
(For future reference, when we have live music again, I WILL make up for all the dad-dancing I missed out on, which I know sounds like a threat. It is. I would like to use this opportunity to formally apologise in advance.)

As a description of No Pressure's self-titled EP, I will use a comment I read on a Nate The Mate YouTube video: "Parker literally Beyonce'd us with that EP and I'm grateful."
No Pressure is the newest project from The Story So Far's Parker Cannon, and one of the best parts about it is that it was dumped on a scene that was not expecting any of it, no explanation, nothing, just five songs, take them or leave them, and then, that was it, aside from a vinyl and cassette tape release. It felt like "Hi, have some music, bye now." No Pressure's music is fast and energetic, reminiscent of two of my great loves in life, early-2000s pop-punk, and early The Story So Far. It's very in your face, and that's what I like so much about it. It's here, yours for the taking, the enjoying, the loving, and that's quite literally it. Weirdly enough, as a huge TSSF fan, what I love the most about it is the early-2000s influence, because it takes all the best from that era, and mixes it with the best from our present time. It has a nostalgic vibe, it feels like it could have been huge at a time when film soundtracks were basically blink-182 and Sum 41 albums, but it doesn't feel stuck in the past. No Pressure perfectly mix nostalgic influences and a modern sound.
You know, when you listen to a band who cites old school blink-182 and American Pie style pop-punk as their influences, and all they do is try to emulate everything from that era to a point when it feels outdated when it was released three days ago? That's the trap No Pressure doesn't fall into. Despite having no information whatsoever on background and influences, it's obvious at least some inspiration came from somewhere early this century. At the same time, it was done by a group of musicians and artists who know what they're doing, who know how to combine styles without falling into soulless imitation and clichés. Quite simply put, it's really fucking good, and I hope that at some point in the future, it gets a live show. The money I would pay to hear those five songs in a tiny, health-and-safety hazard, hot mess of a room.

The last of the EPs does everything I am unable to do in life: keep it short and sweet. This year, as previously mentioned, I have connected a lot with Homesafe's music, and, to my rare unbridled joy, the four-piece released a two-song EP in April, entitled What's Mine Is Yours. It felt like, almost unannounced, the band dumped some of their best material on us, and left us (me) to deal with all of the feelings. Slide and Down are both heaven in musical form, all about love and being here for someone, about wanting to do something and save yourself. They are quiet, simple, but delicate melodies, the harmonies are pure perfection, and the result has that sneaky little power of making the world around you just that little bit quieter. Down ended up the unlikely soundtrack for a tour music video, and there aren't many things I love more than tour footage turned into music videos, unless they have dogs, which this one does. (Down also ended up near the top of the list of my favourite songs released this year, and by Homesafe in general.) I said it before, but when this is all over, when we have live music again, I want my experience to include at least one Homesafe show, and these songs definitely influenced the idea (and better make the setlist).

I know there were many more EPs released this year, some of which really good, too, more critically acclaimed, I don't doubt, less unknown, too. But these are the ones I played the most, the ones that came up first when I thought about EPs. If I may, as a last present of sorts, because too much music is better than none, I would also recommend State Champs' Unplugged EP, because Crying Out Loud made me, well, cry out loud, and Mat Kerekes' Songs For Breanne and Amber Park, because his solo music is one of the loveliest and most comforting there is.

Album Club

# 3 : All the Ways You Let Me Down by Candy Hearts

15:44

There are bands that have a story so precise for me that I could drive back to the very spot where I was when I first listened to their music. I could tell you what I was wearing and where I was standing in the crowd when I first saw them live. Somehow, the specifics have disappeared and been lost in translation when it comes to Candy Hearts. I know our paths collided in the summer of 2014, but that's about it.

When Candy Hearts' (and now Best Ex's) frontwoman Mariel Loveland announced the name change, earlier this year, she said : "To me, Best Ex is like a breakup haircut, only I broke up with this part of myself that I no longer want or need. I broke up with a feeling that had no right to be around in the first place. I chopped off the dead, over-bleached ends of my hair my mom is begging me to cut and gave myself a confidence-boosting makeover (with lots of glitter, of course!)." Little did I know that when Candy Hearts stormed into my life, on a day I do not remember when I stumbled upon I Miss You, they'd turn out to be my confidence-boosting makeover, they'd be my breakup haircut, they'd be the start of me chopping off the dead, over-bleached ends of my figurative hair.

Reading an old interview of Mariel's for Substream, I realised Candy Hearts (and now Best Ex) might just be the most "me" band around. She says she wishes she'd written every Paramore album, but also Torn by Natalie Imbruglia. She claims to be inspired by Taylor Swift and Brand New. Find something more "me" than this, I dare you. Candy Hearts are the band I had wanted to have around my entire life, the band I would have loved to find in a battle of the bands episode of my favourite sitcom when I was eight, the band I would have sang along to in my bedroom, probably deafening my neighbours, aged twelve. Had I been in my Freaky Friday phase (is it a phase, really?) when I first listened to All The Ways You Let Me Down and I would have air-guitarred my way through it and scoured my closets in the hope of finding something suitable to channel my inner Mariel in the same way I did with Lindsay Lohan.
One thing I have learnt during my twenty-seven years on this Earth as well as during nine seasons of How I Met Your Mother is that timing is everything. When you meet people is capital. Where you are at a defined point of time is most important. It works the same with music.
I didn't find Candy Hearts when I was an eight year old obsessed with Sabrina the Teenage Witch, nor did I find them when I wished my life was like Freaky Friday, long haired Chad Michael Murray included.
I told you already, I found Candy Hearts in the summer of 2014 - the summer when a boy snaked his way into my heart, only to break it.

The story is older than the world and many people go through it every second of every day. There was this boy, and he lead me on, only to leave my high and dry, with a broken heart and self-confidence at the bottom of an industrial sized bin. When I discovered All The Ways You Let Me Down, back when I welcomed Mariel into my life with open arms and a shattered heart, my feelings were conflicted and intense. There were days when my anger was fiery and red-hot. There were days when the sadness was so heavy I wasn't sure it would ever lift away. I had brief confident spells that lasted just long enough for the boxed pink hairdye to fade away, or for me to be done crossing Portsmouth Harbour by myself on a sunny day. I can now safely say that Candy Hearts were instrumental in getting to the point where I am today - a stage of "over it" when I have fully accepted that it is okay for me to reflect on it and acknowledge every part of it, and when I hope that wherever he is, he's doing okay.

It was a long battle and I started it at the bottom of the industrial sized bin with the remains of my self-confidence and my broken heart. All The Ways You Let Me Down held my hand and refused to let it go. It held my hand and rubbed its thumb on my skin so that I could never forget it was there for better or for worse. It was the hug I needed, the tough love I needed, the comfort I needed. It acted as the best friend I wasn't sure I had, the kind of friend who is okay listening to you moan over and over again about how sad you are and how this is the end of the world, even when you both know it's not. All The Ways You Let Me Down was there, by my side, unconditionnally.

On the exterior, All The Ways You Let Me Down has all the pretty, rosy, sweet and tender parts I love in music. You can hear it in I Miss You, a resolutely positive love song, or in Mariel's delicate voice. You can guess it when you find my baby pink vinyl. You can see it in the album cover, a naked brick wall decorated in shiny bunting reading its title. All The Ways You Let Me Down has all my dreams of loving someone so much I'd miss them even when they are still with me, of road trips with the stereo loud in the car, of diners in America and of coffee dates with my girl friends. All The Ways You Let Me Down is the perfect bubble of everything I grew up on, a sensitive and sweet teenager fed on American TV shows, who tends to romanticise cars and house parties.
One day, another day I don't remember, I stopped for a second and paid attention to the soundtrack of my hopeful morning dance-offs with myself, to the words I was singing along to. This is how All The Ways You Let Me Down went from being just the album I wished I had had when I was a teenager to the album that helped me through heartbreak. The exterior might be sweet and shiny, but the interior is full of hurt, and pain, of sadness and anxiety. That summer, I looked sweet and shiny with my layered necklaces, my frilly socks and my pink hair, but inside, I was hurting, I was broken, and my anxiety was skyrocketing. In retrospect, at least, I wasn't alone.

Sometimes, all it takes is a sentence. You don't need the whole story to apply to your own. You just need a couple of words. In Michigan, Mariel sings "You say that I have your heart, but I'm all alone when they're closing the bar, and I don't know what you're thinking". She probably had a specific bar in mind when she wrote those lyrics, they take me back somewhere completely different, and still, it stings. It wasn't even a bar, it was an empty tent at a festival, a tent where they had the brilliant idea to close the night with Green Day's Good Riddance, a tent where I was standing by myself, drunk on Jägermeister because they weren't offering anything else, a tent where I was looking like an idiot in my plaid skirt, my Kids in Glass Houses t-shirt and my green wellies. I was alone and I didn't know what he was thinking. What are you supposed to make of someone who tells you he thought he liked you and in the end he doesn't, and forty-eight hours later, he comes to your rescue when you're being bothered by a creep.
One day, I stopped looking at my own life and looked at the big picture instead. I realised that Michigan wasn't about about my own, personal broken heart and a tent in Knebworth, England, it was about a boyfriend who ignores you and does not treat you right, and slowly but surely, I saw this was the situation I had been in, too. I had been ignored, lead on and not treated right, and I deserved better.
The issue with being a highly sensitive person who cares a whole lot about what other people think is that a small thing can make you feel an unsufferable amount of guilt. The greatest thing about being a person who counts on music more than she counts on human beings is that a single song can teach you to let go of the guilt that is eating your insides.

In Brooklyn Bridge, Mariel reflects on a past significant other and says "I didn't know what I was doing, you were so beautiful and charming". Sometimes, it doesn't take a lot to fall for someone. They just need to have a nice smile and the right words at the right time, the right way of saying you are lovely, and you fall head first for it. I nursed delusional hopes of him coming back to me and drunkenly swore I was going to get him back, and then I saw behind the beautiful and charming exterior, the beautiful smile and the right words. Moments like those are like scratching the gold from a cheap necklace away, only to see the grey, ordinary metal underneath. Not all that glitters is pure gold. He would never felt the way I did, never had and never will. He had never liked me as much as I had, he never would, and he had never been as hurt as I was. There was nothing to get hung up on, nothing to waste my time on.

And mostly, there was Top of Our Lungs. Top of Our Lungs has my very favourite thing about Candy Hearts' (and now Best Ex's) music : it is the snapshot of a very particular moment. The lyrics are the clear description of a specific moment in time, the caption of a picture. Once again, it is not a song that was written about my personal heart and my personal moments in time. It still found its way to my heart and spoke to it (and me) in ways no other song did. The first verse hit me so desperately, so hard, so violently I still cannot quite believe I did not pen those words myself. "Sometimes I try to find you in the air before it rains, in the hiss of cassette tapes, in the way I pause before I say your name".
I have done it so much, you know. There was a long period of time during which I would see him absolutely everywhere, even where he wasn't. I would go home and think about my day and there had been at least one person who I thought looked like him. They probably did not even look the part, but my brain decided they did. There would be someone named like him. There would be someone who liked one specific thing he did, even though in this day and age and in our society, it's not that complicated to find two people who like the same band, or film, or food, or wear the same clothes. I could not quite explain why I did it, because I know it wasn't unconscious, and I knew it didn't help at all. You're never really getting over someone if you keep looking for them in tiny, little every day things. Then again, maybe you are.
Over the years, my broken heart has never related to a song as much as I relate to Top of Our Lungs. It is one of these songs that takes me back to the best moment I have ever had with him and to the long list of terrible ones I had by myself after that. This song is a rollercoaster, full of ups and downs, so sudden and violent it is an emotional Tower of Terror. This song made me long for him and nursed the delusional thoughts of us getting back together and this song accompanied my journey in getting over him and in stopping to look for him in absolutely everything. This song held my hand through thick and thin, through the good and the bad, through the moments of me kidding myself into believing I was over it and through the moments when I had to face the truth and admit to myself that I wasn't over anything at all.
Today, this song doesn't hurt anymore, and doesn't have the emotional violence of a brick in my chest. This song is a pop-punk masterpiece and a reminder of how far I've come, of how I thought I'd never get better and guess what? I went ahead and I did.

All The Ways You Let Me Down was my breakup haircut, my confidence boosting makeover, but more importantly, a lesson in letting go. I chopped off the over-bleached, dead, split and delusional ends of my hair and grew much stronger.

Best Ex

Monthly fix : July 2017

03:29

The summer is usually quite the quiet one for gigs, and seeing as I was kinda stuck in my home country, I didn't even get the whole jump on a Megabus and find yourself in a sunny/muddy field or overheated venue moment. I stayed home, hit the free gigs (and Guns n Roses' one night in a packed stadium) and listened to the new things that were released, as always. It's a bit more personal, but trying to keep on top of music releases while staying away from social media is a tough one. I haven't perfectly mastered it yet. August, maybe. (I'm not really good at avoiding the socials)

Albums & EPs

I am honestly so, so excited about talking about this beauty that I will leave the "albums first, EPs then" order in the bin. One of my favourite musicians, Mariel Loveland, released an EP under her new project name, Best Ex. It's called Ice-Cream Anti-Social and spoiler alert, it's stunning.

Best Ex is Candy Hearts' poppy little sister. You can tell both have grown up listening to the same stuff and share the same influences, but Best Ex has chosen the eighties influenced keyboards over the fuzzy guitars. The end result is the same in the way that my heart is stolen, big time. Other than that, Ice Cream Anti-Social is very obviously music made by the supremely talented Mariel. Her delicate vocals get along with the keyboards like a house on fire and her lyrics are still the beautiful, honest kind.

In Lonely Life and Someday, Best Ex sing of trying to figure things out, of not knowing what the future is made of, of doing the best we can despite the hard times and dark nights, the frustration and the broken hearts. In Lonely Life and Someday, Mariel has penned anthems for a generation of twenty-somethings who are struggling, every day, to find their way, to figure things out, to do their best.

The reason why I had fallen in love with Candy Hearts was the way Mariel speaks of love, the way her songs are stories of her life but can easily become the story of yours. In Ice Cream Anti-Social, she's done it again and produced three wonderful moments. February 4th is a lovely acoustic ballad about a long distance relationship, See You Again is the wish of the perfect end to the perfect summer fling and Jellyfish depicts a love that has ended badly, with someone feeling diminished and hurt. ("This is the last time that I will give you my heart again. This is the last time that I will let you walk all over it 'cause I had a life, I had a spine, when I was alone, everything was fine" - let me tell you, this is all too real) The mix between the ukulele, Mariel's vocals and the heartbreaking lyrics could easily make it this EP's crown jewel - but then again, this EP, as a whole, is a shiny jewel, stunning and delicate.

As always, Mariel's writing is never sugarcoated - on the contrary, it's always honest and real. All six songs in Ice Cream Anti-Social feel and sound like snapshots into her life, right out of her brain and heart and turned into pure art. The beauty of art like Best Ex's music is that it tells a very precise story and yet, it becomes a piece in your own personal puzzle, even though it isn't about you. Ice Cream Anti-Social is wonderful from start to finish, and I already cannot get enough of it.

July offered us more music made with awesome ladies. After Best Ex, say hello to Milk Teeth's newest EP, Be Nice. This EP is one of this year's surprises for me - I'm not surprised Milk Teeth have done a wonderful job with it, I just was not expecting new music so soon and so suddenly. Be Nice is a wonderful follow up from the band's groundbreaking debut album, Vile Child, and has all the elements that make Milk Teeth the outstanding band they are. There is the very nineties, college rock sound (even though Fight Skirt has punk undertones here and there), Becky Blomfield's heavenly vocals and the unique bass sound, acting as a lifeline throughout the songs. Be Nice is only four songs long ("only" because I'm being greedy and adore Milk Teeth enough to want more) and it is full of anger and passion, it is a little time bomb ready to explode. Once again, the band hits the nail right on the head with the slower numbers - Hibernate is nothing short of a masterpiece. It starts off slow and reflective, I could have almost called it a ballad, but then, there it is - the time bomb explodes and the harrowing cries ("Don't let me fuck it up") turn the beautiful song with the heartbreakingly relatable lyrics into pure, unalterated pain.

With Be Nice, Milk Teeth show they truly are a gem in this scene, able to be angry and honest and to master a whole spectrum of sound, from satisfyingly catchy to quiet and delicate, and they so it with such grace and talent that it's almost impossible not to get on board.

Technically, this EP has been released on the 30th of June, but what the hell - it will count as a July release, sorry. With Sainte, Taylor Jardine goes from We Are The In Crowd's cheerful pop-punk to catchy pop that's bursting at the seams with colour and energy. Eyes Are Open does a wonderful job of opening smile, and wave - it is explosive and carries a "now, this is what's up" sentiment about. This song (and EP) are positive and full of live, and they strangely make you want to grab life by the horns. The more upbeat songs in smile, and wave (Technicolor, With or Without Me, Feels So Wrong) are little pop-rock bombs and hits in the making. They perfectly showcase Jardine's unique, slightly broken voice and the ease she shows in going from deep to higher notes. They are also the perfect representation of the general feeling in smile, and wave - there is something very empowering about this EP. A lot of the lyrics are about people who have deceived you and, as a consequence, not wanting to be burdened by their lives, wanting to get out of it and make it on your own. These words scream independence and power, if you ask me. This EP, as a whole, is the musical version of the voice in your head that says you have had enough and you deserve better.
smile, and wave is a brilliant, boisterous start to Sainte's career and I am very excited to see what the future holds. It's a very positive piece of work, a colourful collection of perfect summer tunes with meaning and feeling.

Before I listened to Always Lose for the first time, I only knew three things about The Gospel Youth. A, they supposedly are from Brighton (even though their Facebook page says "South Coast"), B, everyone loves them to the moon and back and C, they kind of belong to the UK pop-punk scene, but not really. By the end of the album opener, I Will Deliver You to the Fireflies, I know another thing : love at first sight is real, and I have just experienced it.
The piano reminds me of one Andrew McMahon, the general nostalgic feeling of the lyrics has something of Deaf Havana, and I don't know about you, but I call this a match made in heaven. All throughout the record, there is a classic pop-punk vibe in the English's sound, and at the same time, The Gospel Youth are not a band who are trying to revive something that belongs to another decade. There is a lot of nostalgia and sadness in the lyrics, yet the end result is strangely comforting. Always Lose, in all its beauty, sensitivity and purity, feels like it could be the perfect soundtrack for any moment you could think of - a rainy day, a road trip in the summer, a sweaty gig in a basement, it all works. This album is, overall, perfect, with outstanding drums, soaring vocals and satisfyingly nostalgic lyrics, and it is a breath of fresh air. In the space of half an hour, Always Lose and The Gospel Youth have given me music to fall in love with, to fall for with all my tiny little heart. I might just go ahead and call Always Lose one of the best albums I've heard this year, a stunning piece of art considering it's only a début album. I suppose that's what love at first sight does to you.

This month, you should also listen to Silverstein's newest record, Dead Reflections, Oceans Ate Alaska's new album Hikari. If you fancy magic, Manchester Orchestra's A Black Mile to the Surface exists, and if pop is more your thing, Lana Del Rey is here with Lust for Life.

The playlist

This month's playlist will, of course, include a bunch of Linkin Park songs, as a forever thank you to Chester for everything he has created as a musician and done as a human.
The All-American Rejects coming back with two new tracks, Sweat (a personal favourite) and Close Your Eyes.
The Xcerts signing their come back with the ¨uber-catchy Feels Like Falling in Love. I think I have run out of words to tell the world to give them a listen. This band feels like home in all its glory to me.
In Hearts Wake have chosen Nomad as their new single, and the position taken for the music video is that moshpits aren't just a boy's game. This is another thank you, because us girls need bands like In Hearts Wake to stand up with us against those boys who think they're the kings of the pit. We're here, we matter and we can hold our own, please and thank you.
New tunes from Don Broco, Neck Deep, Arcane Roots, August Burns Red, Knuckle Puck, Stick To Your Guns, Couterparts, PVRIS, Enter Shikari, and new singles from Courage My Love and Waterparks.
Seaway announced they were coming back with their sophomore record, Vacation, out on September 15th. There's a new single, the excellent Apartment, featuring a lot of feelings and dogs.
One of my favourite bands, Four Year Strong, have announced a new record, Some of You Will Like This, Some of You Won't, composed of new songs, rarities and unplugged golden oldies. The (I'm sure) beauty is out on September 8th. The lovely The Wonder Years have also announced a new EP, Burst & Decay, which will include reworked versions of some of their songs.
Another friendly reminder that you should pay attention to Muskets' fuzzy guitars and catchy tunes. Chewing-Gum is a great tune.
Stray From The Path have a new album out in September, too, and to keep us all waiting (and moshing), they have released a single entitled Goodnight Alt Right. By far their most controversial single to date, Goodnight Alt Right stands up against nazism (as we all should, really) in the most aggressive way possible.
New Australian pop-punk in the form of Stand Atlantic. The outfit is soon going on tour alongside New Found Glory.
A little bit of lovely acoustics with Trash Boat's Brave Face for Idobi and The Maine's Bad Behaviour.

Best Ex

Monthly fix : May 2017

03:59

The official start of festival season, the long awaited return of vaguely nice weather and a whole lot of summer infused music. No doubt, it's gonna be May. (Insert everyone's favourite N*Sync meme)

ALBUMS & EPs

THE big album this month is very obviously and very unsurprisingly Paramore's fifth full length, After Laughter. Before we start this journey, I suggest you forget everything you thought you knew about the Nashville trio - they don't sound a thing like they used to. The new and improved Paramore has eighties influences all over the place - the intro to Hard Times is reminiscent to Wham!'s Club Tropicana (sue me) and there are hints of Cyndi Lauper in sound and, sometimes, in the way frontwoman extraordinaire Hayley Williams uses her voice. After Laughter is a million miles away from the pop-punk/alt-rock sound they were known for, if you make an exception for No Friend, which is extremely different from the rest of the album, sort of works as an outro for Idle Worship and confuses me a lot with all the Paramore references. (I have seen a lot of theories about what the songs are about and not one on No Friend, which leaves me even more puzzled). When you hear the first three songs, you feel like you're in a pop dream, because Hard Times into Rose-Colored Boy and its cheerleader chants into Told You So IS a pop dream, and you will think this is an upbeat album. And it is an upbeat album until you listen to the lyrics closely. The pop dream is a deceitful one. After Laughter is an extremely honest album and largely deals with Hayley Williams' depression and the tough times she went through, and sooner rather than later, you realise that the upbeat and colourful exterior is a mask to disguise deeper, darker lyrics.

After Laughter is, overall, a very good album. The transition from alt-rock to a poppier sound Paramore had started with their self-titled record is now complete, and it's been done in such a graceful, natural way that it feels right to hear the band who once made Riot! sound the way they do in After Laughter. The songwriting is absolutely fantastic, it's relatable without being cliché, it's imaginative and vibrant, and some songs (namely Caught in the Middle) hit home a little bit too hard to my liking.

Still, despite all its qualities and despite the fact I could see myself dancing around to its songs, I feel like After Laughter is going to be a grower. It's too new, too recent for it to have a place in my life yet, it's too fresh for me to tell the world if I love it or not. I think I can just appreciate its objective qualities, for now. (I think that's the trouble when you love a band as much as I have loved Paramore at one point).

Linkin Park's frontman Chester Bennington has made the news recently as he told pretty much the entire planet to "move the fuck on" from the band's début album Hybrid Theory. What the Americans are offering us to make the move forward is their seventh full length, One More Light. I'm okay with them not releasing another nu-metal album - I have understood that the year wasn't 2001 anymore, and if they had released Hybrid Theory seven times in a row, I would probably be bored out of my skull. Yet, I'm still not entirely on board with the new album. Some of it is really good - I liked the first single, Heavy, as I felt it showcased Bennington's unique voice really nicely. Battle Symphony is a beautiful song and almost brought me to tears. I don't mind the rapping at all, I've always liked in in their music. But I can't help feeling the final result is blander than it should be. It could be such a good album, but it falls short in too many places. (Don't get me started on the chipmunk type voices here and there, I don't want them to be trendy anymore)

I am aware that Courage My Love's Synesthesia has been released in February, but I only stumbled upon that band recently, and its been released in Europe in May, so we'll pretend it's totally acceptable that I am three months late. If you're into a nice little mix of electro-pop and pop-rock, with beautiful vocals (courtesy of twin sisters Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn) today is your lucky day - Courage My Love excel at that. With Synesthesia, you get forty minutes of extremely catchy songs, songs that clearly have the potential to make this band bigger than it is at the moment. Some tracks, such as Love Hurts, Need Someone or The Year I Disappeared, even have something anthemic about them. The lyrics deal with toxic relationships and the influence of mental health issues in dealing with other people, they're very honest without being cliché, and they're written in a way that can appeal to just about everyone. There is something quite liberating and exhilarating about that band's music. More than being catchy and almost anthemic, their songs make you feel like the painful times and the confusion are lifting off.

I have only started listening to Tigers Jaw this year (I know, it was long overdue), and I have one very, very important question : where has this band been my whole life? I have just listened to spin for the very first time, and it is a beautiful treasure, the loveliest indie-rock record, tinted with emo here and there, especially when the lyrics start dealing with the perception of oneself and how to deal with pain. The first word that came to mind when opener Follows kicked in was dreamy - everything in this album is a dream. The mixture between Ben Walsh's and Brianna Collins' vocals is beautiful and adds to the loveliness spin oozes, as both voices are delicate and delightful. The stand out track of the record, for me, is June - it's just gorgeous, positive and oh so satisfyingly catchy. If my life was a movie, I would like spin to be the soundtrack to my moments of chosen solitude - and considering how much I love and value them, I think you'd understand that it is a compliment of the highest form.

Two years after the beautiful Skydancer, In Hearts Wake are back with the, well, at least equally as beautiful Ark. The album is opened by a self-titled intro full of seagulls and wave sounds, and it's the calm before the storm - because Ark is a stunning metalcore storm waiting to happen. There's always been something about the metalcore scene in Australia (Parkway Drive, The Amity Affliction, Northlane ringing any bells to you) and, thanks to their fourth full-length, In Hearts Wake are showing, if this was necessary, that they are a force to be reckoned with. Ark is wonderful because it's not a heavy record just for the sake of being heavy. Its heaviness has a purpose and it's meant to be hard-hitting ; I don't think it's a coincidence that the heaviest songs on the record are the most politically charged ones (Passage, Warcry). As always, the Australian outfit are here to remind the world we need to take care of this planet we're lucky enough to call home, thanks to their lyrics, obviously, but also thanks to the promoting campaign that surrounded the lyrics of the album. Indeed, instead of doing regular record store signings, the band has organised meet ups in the form of cleaning beaches all around Australia. (I'm honestly so up for more bands doing that in the future, let's all save the world and listen to metalcore together). While listening to Ark and while appreciating the environmental message behind many of the songs, I had a feeling all the mentions of the sea, the ocean, the coast and the Earth were a metaphor for something less literal and more personal. The stunning Frequency felt like it was about a relationship that doesn't quite work out, when Flow, a personal favourite, seems to be an uplifting track with motivational lyrics ("Move into the flow, let it all go, shed the dead weight of your shadow, be the light that you've always known"). If you've always been on board with In Hearts Wake's work, you won't be disappointed by Ark - it is a beautiful work of art, a politically engaged, yet positive record, it has great melodies and Jake Taylor's and Kyle Erich's vocals are out of this world. The band has just announced a European tour for October and I, for one, can't wait to hear how this album sounds on a stage. (Is it too early to request Flow or?)

After making a name for themselves through relentless touring (notably with the likes of Jimmy Eat World and You Me At Six), The Amazons are releasing their self-titled début album. Let me tell you, that record is indie-rock banger after indie-rock banger finished off with Palace as the heartbreaking cherry on the cake. My question is, now, could The Amazons be a breath of fresh air in a UK rock scene who is begging for it? Could they blow up the way bands like Kings of Leon or The Kooks did back in the day? Could they get themselves that legendary status? I say why the hell not - I mean, their album is already a top ten ordeal, and they're booked on every single festival you can think of. Seems plausible. Music wise, they definitely have everything in their power to get there. Their record is a collection of incredible indie-rock riffs (don't dare telling me Black Magic's intro isn't one of the best pop-rock tracks we've heard in a while), and their sound comfortably navigates from straight up rock to heavier things (In My Mind), and even has emo influences dotted here and there (Junk Food Forever). I'm now eager to see what the Amazons' next move is going to be, and as long as it includes anything as excellent as this record, I'll be along for the ride.

Mallory Knox have released the Unwired EP, a selection of songs extracted from their excellent third album Wired, but played acoustically. There's not much I can say apart from the fact that I really, really do love a bit of acoustic, and Mallory Knox do it really well.

PS : Check out Gnarwolves. You know you want to.

MY FAVOURITE ARTIST

My favourite new artist this month is New Jersey's Best Ex, formerly known as Candy Hearts. Earlier this month, the extremely talented Mariel Loveland has announced the name change and released a new track called Girlfriend, an extremely catchy pop song that has managed to stay stuck in my head for hours on end, and that was tailor made for Loveland's delicate voice. I adore Girlfriend and am now eagerly waiting for new Best Ex material, I am delighted to know that Candy Hearts songs will still be played live, I am hoping for European shows of some sort and I think I've come to the conclusion that as long as Mariel Loveland keeps making music, everything will be alright.
(Listen to Girlfriend here)

THE PLAYLIST

This month, we found out Chris Cornell, singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave, had passed away aged 52, and I just wanted to add an Audioslave song to this, one of my favourite songs in the world.
Mallory Knox have covered Coldplay's classic song Yellow as part of the Torch Songs campaign, in support of the mental health charity CALM. What they have to say about it is also really cool (not to mention that the cover is just lovely). Since we're on the subject of Mallory Knox, they have also released a music video for their new single California.
And yet another song for State Champs - Hurry Up and Wait has mad The Finer Things vibes and is part of the deluxe edition of their sophomore record Around the World and Back. Speaking of deluxe editions, the new and improved version of blink-182's California is there, and new track Wildfire is there to channel the band's Enema of the State era.
I think we can all safely say that this month, Don Broco have become kings of creating buzz around a new project. Their offer to watch bass player Tom Doyle's wedding in Las Vegas turned out to be a gory music video for new single Pretty. Have Don Broco ever released a bad song? Absolutely never. Catch me in the pit at Slam Dunk and Alexandra Palace.
Only a tiny month left before we get to hear Broadside's new record, Paradise. They have recently released two new songs off it : one called Hidden Colors and the album's title track, Paradise, and they might just be this month's feel good tracks. I love the fact that they aren't afraid of putting actual pop elements in their pop-punk sound, and both songs are yet another proof of this. Both tracks also come with super colourful and joyous music videos complete with frontman Oliver Baxxter's killer dance moves - what's there not to love.
Lots of things happening in the Milk Teeth camp! The band has signed to Roadrunner Records, is going on tour in July with Wallflower and Employed to Serve, and will be releasing a new EP, Be Nice, on the 28th of July. Owning Your Okayness is the first single from it, and it's excellent (like everything else Milk Teeth ever do)
PVRIS ARE BACK! The American trio has announced their new album, All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell, out on August 4th, and there's a single called Heaven to keep us waiting. Great stuff? Great stuff.
Tonight Alive's Jenna McDougall features on Australian rapper Illy's new single Oh My, and what can I say? I might just be on board with everything this woman does.
At this point in time, no one really knows what the future holds for American pop band The Summer Set, which makes me deeply unhappy. Frontman Brian Dales, though, has released his first solo song this month. It's called Young for the Summer and it really, really reminds me of Bryan Adams' classic Summer of '69.
This month was an endless game of Spot the Cha in live music videos, and I'm happy to say I made it in two of them ! I look very fascinated by Simon Neil in Biffy Clyro's Friends and Enemies (2:54), and I look utterly confused in Empire of Silence by While She Sleeps (1:58). Other live moments that do not feature my face include Take on the World by You Me At Six, recorded at their Alexandra Palace headliner and Come and Get It by I Prevail. If you need your heart broken (who doesn't), The Maine are here for you with this version of Raining in Paris, recorded during the Lovely Little Lonely tour.
In other music videos you might have missed : Kevin Devine releases a powerful music video for the excellent Daydrunk, Greywind retrace their first year as a band in Safe Haven, Plum Island shows you life on the road with Waterparks and Courage My Love get emotional in Need Someone. Finally, because there is no such thing as too much The Winter Passing, have a look at the lovely video for Significance, maybe.
Neck Deep have announced a third record for August 18th. Entitled The Peace and the Panic, it includes absolute bangers Where Do We Go When We Go and Happy Judgement Day (which includes a key change, my dudes, A KEY CHANGE), and will feature Architects' Sam Carter. Someone hold me.